Mangaluru: The foundation stone laying ceremony for the Court Road construction work was held at the court premises here, on June 6.
PWD minister Mahadevappa and MP Oscar Fernandes laid the foundation stone for the road construction work. After the foundation stone laying ceremony, there was a stage programme. The programme began with an invocation. PWD Engineer B T Kantaraj welcomed the gathering. He also explained how the snail nailing process would be used to develop this road.
The programme was inaugurated by Mahadevappa along with other dignitaries by lighting the traditional lamp.
Addressing the gathering, Lobo said that the road near the court premises was too narrow and limited access to emergency services was identified during the construction of the new court building. “Since we were constructing a house of law, we couldn’t just neglect this rule as it would set a bad premise. And so, we had undertaken the project to develop this road.” He also said that better roads need to be provided to critical services like courts, hospitals, government offices, etc and asked Mahadevappa to provide a bypass road at the Netravati bridge to connect Kerala and Bengaluru directly so that the flow of heavy traffic into the city is reduced.
Lobo further said, “The Public Works Department is sanctioning Rs 11 crore as funds for every constituency. Whatever the Mangaluru Constituency has received, I have decided to utilize it to renovate the Court road. I would have utilized it for the development of various roads in the city and this would have pleased my voters but constructing the court road is my priority. The court premises is in a hilly area and we need modern technology to construct the road. Experts from the Indian Institute of Science will guide the contractors while constructing the road and it will take a huge amount while constructing the road scientifically. There will be fear of landslides while constructing the road, but the road work will be completed within one and half years.
Addressing the gathering Oscar Fernandes said, “When plans to construct a new court building were made, it was found that a wider road was necessary to get permission for construction. When this problem came into view, there was a burning question among our leaders that if the development work for this road would not be sanctioned then it would be difficult to make the court building. The road will be made using the application of innovative technology. If you cannot widen the roads, then you can always build a road over another. Even if it hasn’t been done anywhere in the state, it will be done in Mangaluru, if required. Today, we can build roads with less expense and better connectivity.”
Speaking on the occasion, Dr Mahadevappa said that the MPs, MLAs and leaders of the region have worked hard for the development of Mangaluru. He took a moment to remember former Karnataka CM late Devraj Urs, whose 33rd death anniversary was observed today. Devraj Urs was the voice of the poor and stood for the cause of the downtrodden in society and introduced many reforms that targeted the depressed classes of Karnataka, namely the scheduled castes and the other backward class. He also recalled John F Kennedy’s quote, ‘It is not our wealth that built our roads, but it is our roads that built our wealth’ and said, “Our priority is to establish mobility, only then will tourism flourish, people will connect and the state will grow. We had planned to finish the road work of Shiradi Ghat by June, but due to unexpected rains in April, the work has been delayed. Since it is a heavily used road, we need to finish the work soon and it is our duty to see that it is completed.”
Minister for Forests Ramanath Rai also spoke on the occasion. Deputy commissioner A B Ibrahim, District and Sessions Judge Uma M G, Blossom Fernandes, Chairman MUDA Ibrahim Kodizal, Chairman of Karnataka State Bar Council P P Hegde, Corporator Vinayraj and others were also present.